The quote Bowling gave to the audience was one Obama made during a commencement speech in 2012 at Barnard College.

Bowling said he “didn’t mean anything bad” by trolling the crowd. He said he meant it to be funny.

“I just thought it was a really good quote,” Bowling explained. “Most people wouldn’t like it if I used it, so I thought I’d use Donald Trump’s name. It is southeastern Kentucky after all.”

The school, located in Bell County, overwhelmingly supported Trump in the 2016 election with nearly 80 percent voting for the commander in chief.

Despite the silence, Bowling said he has not received any backlash from the speech and some members of the audience found it funny.

"Y'all, no lie - the valedictorian just quoted Trump and everyone cheered ... then he told us that it was actually an Obama quote. Best part of the day. I'm rolling," Alisha Russell, a law student who attended the ceremony, tweeted.